The last of his Illuminated had been sacrificed to slow the pursuers. Mr. Graves, lumbering along beside Jacob Lynch, having returned from his search, reported briskly to him, “No signs of a breach, and no signs there ever was one.” The same thought had been swirling through Lynch’s mind, but was it bad intelligence or had he been sent here for a purpose. “Then let’s leave this wretched settlement,” he coughed, “I need a drink to wash away the taste of this place.”
As he spoke he absently searched for a soulstone he knew he didn’t have. It was going to be a long and painful journey back to the Honeypot, if he made it, he mused darkly. “Oh, we’ll make it” a voice emerging from his own mind spoke to him, and again Lynch’s thoughts returned to his pact with the Hungering Darkness.
***
Meanwhile, as Lynch’s thoughts darkened, Shenlong of the Five Temples had reached his meeting with Misaki. “Master Shenlong,” the Oyiban greeted him, “I have a task I wish to see completed and I have chosen you to embark on it…”
“Of course, my Oyiban”, Shenlong responded carefully, “anything you need.” With this he inclined his head. The Dragon in his mind seemed to move restlessly and seethe at this.
“Tonight” she finished, smiling slightly at him.
“I have only a few of my students with me”, he replied. It was not spoken as an excuse, but simply as a fact. Misaki said nothing and only watched him quietly.
Turning to Sensi Yui, Shenlong nodded slightly, then returned his attention to Misaki. Understanding the need, the larger monk bowed to his master, took a step backwards, then turned on his heel and left the room to gather up other followers of the Way.
Misaki watched on in silence and when Shenlong returned his gaze he asked, “How may I be of service to the Ten Thunders?”
Ototo, who had somehow been lounging in the shadows, stepped forward at this and unrolled a map onto a small table. Misaki began outlining his task. “Time is of the essence. You will travel immediately to the catacombs beneath Malifaux City, specifically those below the Honeypot…”
Big thanks to Gavin for providing the story above. The last two games saw Jacob Lynch search fruitlessly for a breach in the Malifaux wilderness. Was he sent there as a diversion? Specifically, a diversion to allow for the secrets of the Honeypot to be explore?
For this game we played in the sewers of Malifaux, using the excellent Dungeons & Sewers terrain from the Grinning Gargoyle. This terrain is simply cardboard boxes with plastic clips to hold them together. There are some nice features like stairways and doors that can be added to the clips. All of the graphics are lovely. Here’s the setup and the crews for the game:
My plan was to use Mei Feng’s superior to be where she was needed to complete the strategy and Outflank. I nominated the two Rail Workers as Hidden Martyrs. Here’s how the deployment looked:
We initially pushed towards the strategy markers and I dropped scrap markers to allow for as much Rail Walking as possible.
Sensei Yui pushed up one of the central tunnels and Mei Feng the other. I had a Rail Worker (a martyr!) accompanied by a Metal Gamin on the right move towards Shenlong, while Kang, a Rail Worker and the Metal Gamin set things up on the left. I scored Outflank and Hidden Martyr this turn.
Mei Feng was bouncing back and forward between a central and flanking position: the central position was to keep me in the strategy and the flank was to clear as much opposition as possible for Outflank.
Kang moved back towards Sensei Yui with the intention of holding him up, but not killing him. He was to be my unwitting accomplice in achieving the second part of Hidden Martyr. The Rail Worker trailed Kang to get in position. Gavin scored Hidden Martyr on a Fermented Monk, so I was cautious of the second one who was now near Kang.
Gavin did a great job in pushing Mei Feng back from scrap markers and blocking access to her target scrap markers. This was important as she was my only chance to score the right-hand Outflank. In the end he did enough to prevent her getting where she needed to be. In the centre Kang fell back, while my Rail Worker accosted Sensei Yui. Gavin had misread Hidden Martyr and engaged the Rail Worker, thus failing to score it. The game ended 5:4 to me, but would have been a draw without that small mistake.
This was a fantastic game, so cinematic: Kung Fu fighting in the sewers of Malifaux!
So, why was Mei Feng there? Is she working with Jacob or against Misaki or both? What secret lies under the Honeypot? Maybe we’ll find out in the next instalment.
Until next time,
Owen